SRIKUMARAN PHYSIOTHERAPY & FITNESS CENTRE ( ஶ்ரீகுமரன் ‌‌‌‌பிசியோதெரபி & உடற்பயிற்சி மையம் )

INTRODUCTION ‘Homeostasis’ refers to the maintenance of constant internal environment of the body (homeo = same; stasis = standing). Importance of internal environment was notified by the great biologist of 19th century Claude Bernard. He enlightened the fact that multicellular organisms including man live in a perfectly organized and controlled internal environment, which he called ‘milieu interieur’. The word ‘homeostasis’ was introduced by Harvard Professor, Walter B Cannon in 1930. Internal environment in the body is the extracellular fluid (ECF) in which the cells live. It is the fluid outside the cell and it constantly moves throughout the body. It includes blood, which circulates in the vascular system and fluid present in between the cells called interstitial fluid. ECF contains nutrients, ions and all other substances necessary for the survival of the cells. Normal healthy living of large organisms including human beings depends upon the constant maintenance of internal enviro

 Balance and posture are interrelated. Depending on the base and the position of the centre and line of gravity a body is either balanced – in equilibrium – or not. Posture is the word used to describe any position of the human body. Some positions or postures require more muscle work to maintain than others, but whatever the position, balance must be maintained otherwise the force of gravity will impose a change of posture. The maintenance of balance is dependent on the one hand upon the integration of sensory input from exteroceptors, proprioceptors and the special senses – the eyes and the vestibular apparatus – and on the other hand on an integrated motor system and the basic postural reflexes. In the normal individual, balance is maintained almost completely at a subconscious level. In retraining a patient's balance this fact must be considered and the patient trained to react to stimuli rather than to make a conscious, voluntary effort to maintain equilibrium. At times volunt